Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020
267. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of private rent inspections that took place in each local authority area in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020; if the same data as a percentage of overall private rental units will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42683/20]
View answerThe Strategy for the Rental Sector set out a series of measures to be introduced to ensure the quality of private rental accommodation by strengthening the applicable standards and improving the inspection and enforcement systems.
The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supply. My Department also published a guidance document to assist and support local authorities in implementing these Regulations.
All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.
The Rental Strategy recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to aid increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations. Provision was made for €2.5 million to be made available to local authorities in 2018, increasing to €4.5 million in 2019 with corresponding inspection rate targets of 10% and 15% respectively. This has enabled local authorities to build inspection capacity incrementally. Significant progress has been made across the sector. The number of inspections more than doubled from 19,645 in 2017 to 40,998 in 2019.
Please note inspection targets are in respect of the number of inspections to be conducted and not the number of dwellings to be inspected, as most dwellings will require more than one inspection. Targets are calculated by applying the relevant annual percentage to the total number of tenancies registered with the Residential Tenancies Board on 31 December in the previous year.
The 2020 inspection rate target is 20% and €6 million of Exchequer funding has been made available to local authorities, but pandemic restrictions have severly impacted on both inspections and enforcement activity this year. An increased budget of €10 million has been approved to facilitate a targeted inspection rate of 25% in 2021.
Data in respect of the number of inspections carried out in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020 as a percentage of the number of tenancies registered with the Residential Tenancies Board at the end of the previous year are set out in the attached table.
